AFI DOCS 2014 - Jennifer Grausman, Mark Becker and Subject Mark Landis of ART AND CRAFT

Mark Landis is one of the most skilled art forgers in United States history. Using his astonishing talent to duplicate the work of famous artists, Landis has spent the last 30 years duping museum curators all over the country. Landis, however, is not in it for the money. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, this eccentric forger gets a thrill from donating his work. But after hoodwinking one person too many, Landis finds himself in hot water.

[@garypuckettmuse]

This is an absolutely sublime documentary. The shooting, the editing, the story construction, the themes . . .even the strip-tease music which seems mysterious until you watch the film and see what a total strip-tease the whole enterprise is.. Mark Landis is a total genius and he speaks truth (sometimes to power and sometimes straight to the viewer). And these filmmakers didn't bother stooping for the typical "irony" that passes for intellectual and spiritual inquiry so often these days. . This is both a high-minded exploration of a complex and fascinating man and a really interesting "stranger-than-fiction" true story. It opens up so many lines of inquiry into the nature of human values and the nature of what humans value. This is a refined, intelligent film which is so well-crafted it seems effortless. And by the way, if I may digress here, it makes clods like Michael Moore look like what they are -- boorish, cloying and ham-fisted.